Jack Franklin's Last Laugh
The ambush and capture of Gabriel del Toro's army is known locally as Jack Franklin's Last Laugh. Background General del Toro's army had just laid siege to Alameda and captured it over the course of a single day. Most of the population of Alameda, as well as most of the legislators, had fled the city ahead of del Toro's army and scattered into the surrounding lands, with some rushing along the south road to Puerto Rayo, where newly elected governor Jack Franklin had rallied the provincial Militia. After the siege of Alameda, rather than stop to give his men rest or to connect with the supply chain from Rotoxa, del Toro pushed ahead to Puerto Rayo, seeking to capture or kill Franklin and put an end to the Lotruna Rebellion by the end of the week. The Battle of the South Road After the capture of Alameda, General Gabriel del Toro continued to pursue the retreating militia. But where others saw an invincible army on an inexorable march, Franklin saw an army of exhausted, wounded men who'd barely had time to reload before going back on the march. Worse, Franklin knew that Alameda had been stripped of all its food and ammunition, save that held in the House of Parliament. Therefore, if del Toro's army hadn't established a new leg in the supply chain, they were operating with less ammo, less medical, and men who had already been softened by one battle. When del Toro's army approached Franklin's small (and well rested and well armed) remaining forces on the road to Puerto Rayo, they were thus ambushed by the enormous army they hadn't expected and weren't prepared for at all. When the militia had regrouped at Pueto Rayo, they were joined by thousands of new recruits seeking revenge for the siege of Alameda. The combined forces pushed del Toro's army towards the sea, where the final surprise awaited them: The Paysean Imperial Navy had surrounded the coast, preventing del Toro's army from fleeing or receiving support from the Rotoxan Navy. General Gabriel del Toro surrendered to Jack Franklin personally. Franklin reportedly laughed when he heard their terms of surrender, and responded with his counter offer: del Toro's men would live and be allowed to leave, but del Toro would be executed by firing squad. Del Toro agreed to the terms, much to the surprise of commanders on both sides, and after his execution his men were allowed to leave in peace. Aftermath Rotoxa in general and the del Toro Family in particular took offense to Franklin's summary execution of one of their generals. Plans of retaliation were drawn up, but the Treaty of the Half Moon put all that on hold, ending the war just as they were getting a good head full of mad. Elsewhere, Franklin's peaceful dismissal of del Toro's army was seen as an unprecedented act of grace and diplomacy, and tempered by the execution of del Toro himself, was seen as the act that solidified Lotruna's independence and Franklin's Guardianship of the new nation. Category:Setting Category:History Category:Lotruna Category:The Great War Category:Rotoxa